I am a man. *insert manly grunt
Just in case you didn't get that...I'll type it again but in all capital letters. I AM A MAN. **insert two grunts
I don't know if it is because this is the way God made us, but guys always have this need to exclaim their masculinity. I always have this urge to pull out my "man card" when people are talking about love or romance. If someone brings up the Notebook or A Walk to Remember, I walk away grunting because I am a man and I don't need to hear about that love stuff. Well honestly, I watched A Walk to Remember when I was in high school, but I only did it ONLY because a girl made me. Therefore, that adds to my manliness because I was hanging out with a chick.
Crying is another issue where some guys draw the line at manliness. Personally, I think it is okay if a man cries in certain situations. If a man's dog dies, crying is perfectly acceptable. Crying is permissible if a relative passes away. When Bubba dies and Forest is sitting there holding his now dead best friend, tears can acceptably fall from man's tear ducts. Crying does not always make a guy less of a man.
The reason I bring up this whole idea of "manliness" is because lately it seems like I have been bombarded by this idea of love and romance. It all began about six months ago at Carterville Christian Church where we went through a Marriage series called "The Vow." It was a very insightful sermon series that looked at how couples can connect their relationship with God to their relationship with each other. During this time, I was actually called out twice from the stage because I was single and hadn't found my "better half" (So if you are out there "better half" please come introduce yourself. That would be ideal). Then we did a short series in chapel at my school, Ozark Christian College, about guys and girls and our relationships with each other. And now as soon as I arrive in Indiana, I go to the Post (the college age ministry at Southeast), and they are starting a series called, "The Story of Us." I'm not exactly sure what this series is going to be about, but the first night dealt with love and romance. Right away I wanted to tune out but just screaming "I am a Man!" at the top of my lungs, because I have heard so much on this subject lately that I feel like I could co-write the next Twilight movie. But reluctantly, I held in my screams and listened to Kyle Idleman as he preached through the first chapter and half of Song of Solomon.
Kyle did an excellent job of connecting the bridge of the author of the Song of Solomon to college students in the 21st century. One key thought that really stood out to me was that in chapter 1 verse 3, Solomon's lover says, "Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder maidens love you!" Our culture places way too much on image and physical attraction. The lover in this verse doesn't bring attention to Solomon's physique but to his name. In that culture, a person's name embodied that person's whole being. So if a person was full of integrity and lived an honest life, their name would be a good thing. However, if a person was just evil and was not a likable person, their name would mean nothing. Kyle just kept bringing out certain truths like this one throughout the entire passage and it was refreshing to read Song of Solomon with a new perspective.
There were many more truths Kyle brought to our attention, but I was a goofball and didn't have anything to take notes on. That is one thing I am going to start doing...I'll bring a notebook and pen to every sermon I hear so I can actually remember what I'm learning! I want to leave you with this one truth....Men can learn about love and romance and still be a man. Now if they start reading romance novels, then their masculinity might be brought into question before the great Board of Men (BOM for short), of which I am the head honcho.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Office: Indiana Edition
Presents are nice to receive! Sometimes the presents are fun and practical and others are just...well, practical. When I was younger, I was sort of a ladies man. If you have ever hung around me at all, you know that my glory days were in 8th grade. In 8th grade, I was dating a girl, and my birthday was coming up so she decided to give me a present. Knowing I love the Kansas Jayhawks, she bought me a cool hat with "KU" right across the front. A year later, I was dating a different girl, and she gave me the exact same Kansas hat. So I did what was noble. I told her thank you with a huge smile on my face. Later I ended up giving that hat to one of my brothers, so I guess what I am trying to say is that some presents aren't practical at all.
But when I graduated from Ozark, my parents gave me a GPS. My Global Positioning System is the epitome of practical. My trip from Topeka to Southern Indiana was made so much easier because of that small rectangular thing hanging from my windshield. My grandma gave me a briefcase for graduation. At first, I was a little skeptical about it. But when I took it home, I saw my initials on it and pretended to be important by carrying it around the house pretending to be on the phone with important people. So I have come to the conclusion that the brief case is a win.
This is the part of my post where I make an awkward transition from my introduction that has nothing to do with what I really want to talk about. So...(transition).
I am almost done with my second full day of my internship at Southeast Christian Church in Indiana. From the very first time I pulled into the youth minister's drive away to attend a staff cookout to a 2-hour long meeting I just got out of that just focused on volunteers, I can see the great chemistry this staff has at this church. There is rarely a moment in the office where someone is not laughing or just talking with another staff member. Some might think that this means that a lot of work does not get done, but that is hardly the case. When things need to get done, they get done. But I just love the atmosphere the office has here in Indiana. You can really tell that these people have the Spirit working in their lives.
Probably my favorite TV show on the air today is The Office. If you do not know what I am talking about, please do yourself a favor and go to nbc.com and watch a couple episodes. But basically, this show is about a paper company that is being followed around by a video crew that is producing a documentary. The Office is full of different people who all come together to work in one office where anything and everything occurs. From Michael Scott's inappropriate behavior to Stanley's crossword puzzles to Dwight's "Schrute Bucks" to Pam's beautiful face, all of the people in the office all have a good camaraderie and relationship. Sometimes Dwight will try to undermine Jim's authority, and Creed will steal something from somebody. But at the end of the day, usually (or by the end of the episode), everyone walks to the cars happy that they are part of a great team.
The reason I bring up The Office is because the office here at Southeast is very similar to the TV show. I am telling the truth too! For instance, there is an episode where there was a Bat in the office that was flying around. There is a bat in the closet here at the church, and no one will get rid of it...I guess we don't have a Dwight. But the camaraderie in here in the office is fantastic and I cannot wait to get to know everybody even better! And even though I am sure there are some disagreements, at the end of the day everyone walks to their cars knowing they are a part of a great team here at Southeast.
But when I graduated from Ozark, my parents gave me a GPS. My Global Positioning System is the epitome of practical. My trip from Topeka to Southern Indiana was made so much easier because of that small rectangular thing hanging from my windshield. My grandma gave me a briefcase for graduation. At first, I was a little skeptical about it. But when I took it home, I saw my initials on it and pretended to be important by carrying it around the house pretending to be on the phone with important people. So I have come to the conclusion that the brief case is a win.
This is the part of my post where I make an awkward transition from my introduction that has nothing to do with what I really want to talk about. So...(transition).
I am almost done with my second full day of my internship at Southeast Christian Church in Indiana. From the very first time I pulled into the youth minister's drive away to attend a staff cookout to a 2-hour long meeting I just got out of that just focused on volunteers, I can see the great chemistry this staff has at this church. There is rarely a moment in the office where someone is not laughing or just talking with another staff member. Some might think that this means that a lot of work does not get done, but that is hardly the case. When things need to get done, they get done. But I just love the atmosphere the office has here in Indiana. You can really tell that these people have the Spirit working in their lives.
Probably my favorite TV show on the air today is The Office. If you do not know what I am talking about, please do yourself a favor and go to nbc.com and watch a couple episodes. But basically, this show is about a paper company that is being followed around by a video crew that is producing a documentary. The Office is full of different people who all come together to work in one office where anything and everything occurs. From Michael Scott's inappropriate behavior to Stanley's crossword puzzles to Dwight's "Schrute Bucks" to Pam's beautiful face, all of the people in the office all have a good camaraderie and relationship. Sometimes Dwight will try to undermine Jim's authority, and Creed will steal something from somebody. But at the end of the day, usually (or by the end of the episode), everyone walks to the cars happy that they are part of a great team.
The reason I bring up The Office is because the office here at Southeast is very similar to the TV show. I am telling the truth too! For instance, there is an episode where there was a Bat in the office that was flying around. There is a bat in the closet here at the church, and no one will get rid of it...I guess we don't have a Dwight. But the camaraderie in here in the office is fantastic and I cannot wait to get to know everybody even better! And even though I am sure there are some disagreements, at the end of the day everyone walks to their cars knowing they are a part of a great team here at Southeast.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
There might be an END in FriENDships but...
When people do great things, they are often asked, "What does it feel like?" I'm sure after scoring 100 points on the New York Knicks, Wilt Chamberlain was asked that question. In 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the earth's moon, and I am positive he was asked the question. Now that I have graduated college, I've been asked that very question time and time again. Personally, I think dropping 100 points in an NBA game and being the first person to be on the moon are way more impressive than graduating from college. If you think about it, only one person has ever scored that many points in any level of compeitition of basketball, and only a handful of people can say they have been on the moon. Thousands and thousands of people graduated from college this year alone. So should I feel so accomplished from graduating from Ozark Christian College? I think so, but it is not because of a piece of paper with my name on it that i received from OCC for completing a four year degree. It is becaue of the many relationships I was able to build while being at Ozark that I can honestly answer the question, "What does it feel like?" with a resounding, "GREAT!"
Now I am no Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain or Neil Armstrong, but those guys could not have had better friends than the people who I have called family for the past four years at Ozark. There are way too many brothers and sisters that made an impact in my life to bring up in this post, but if I don't mention you its not because I don't love you...it is because you probably never bought me lunch or let me borrow your umbrella when it was raining.
Connor.
Connor, how do I even begin to describe our friendship? Our freshmen year, I just knew you as the kid that had a collapsed lung. I think everyone on our floor visited you in the hospital except for me and David. As time went though, we started to hang out, and I soon realized that you were probably one of the funniest people I had ever met. As our freshmen year came to a close, we started the infamous band, Worthy Prisoners. Six words to describe the worthy Prisoners...Too Much rock for One hand. I loved just sitting in our dorm room writing songs about Jonah or the Book of Acts. I know my junior year, we were not as close but I think we made up for it our senior year. I had such a blast with you my last year at Ozark. Whenever I needed to laugh or just feel better because I was in a horrible mood, you were there to crack a joke and make me smile. But our whole friendship wasn't based on laughter, we could have our serious conversations too about life and I really appreciated that. Connor, You are going to do great things whenever you graduate Ozark. If it is in Russia, I know you'll find a russian lady who just wants to use you for an easier access to American citizenship. Just Kidding! I love you man, and i will always cherish our friendship and I hope it continues for many more years.
Caitlyn.
Oh Caitlyn. Our friendship began in the food court of the mall in Joplin in an awkward way and awkwardness has not departed from a friendship ever since. I have to say that are one great baker. Your cookies were delicious, but you never had to bake us any goodies for us to love you (just in case you thought that was the case). I am sorry we didn't get to hang out as much our senior year, but the times we did hang out, I had a blast. I loved playing cards with you and always having awkward moments. I think my favorite memory with you was our trip down to Albuquerque. Going to the balloon fiesta was one thing I will never forget. You are a great friend Caitlyn, and I sure hope we get to cross paths again someday. And you are going to have so much fun this summer at Camp...you better let me know how it goes!
Blake.
This picture basically sums up our relationship Blake. I can only guess the background to this picture. I probably antagonized you somehow (all I am going to say is...Space Jam), and I tried running away but first you grabbed me and put me in the cradle. One of my first memories of you was when we were walking up the hill from a one of our first meals on campus during orientation, and I remember thinking to myself, "Man, that guy has some weird eyes." Blake, you are a great guy who I look up to spiritually. YOu are going to be an EXCELLENT youth minister, and wherever you end up going, I hope those kids understand how lucky they are to have you as their youth minister. I also want to thank you for putting up with my laziness when it came to working out. I know I ended up leaving you hanging with running in the morning, but you were always there to encourage and push me farther. As our college career came to an end, I felt like I was in your room everyday discussing the future and asking for your wisdom and guidance. Those talks we had were amazing, and we better connect later in life. And don't forget...The Landis Park Church will be the next mega-church.
Kinsey.
Oh Kinsey. I know that we have not been friends as long as the people I have already talked about, but our friendship is just as important to me. People have said that we are the exact same person, just different gender, and i think I would agree with them. We have so much in common that it is a little scary! I had such a great time getting to know you these past couple of years. Whether it was playing cards, playing paper football, or just sitting down and talking in the student center, there was never a dull moment. You have such a great heart and it was awesome getting to see how much you care about people (especially your Asian babies!). I just want you to know that you are going to awesome in Maryland. You are a beautiful woman who I know God will use in great ways if you just have confidence in yourself and in Him. You will always have a friend in me and if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. I love you kinsey!
David.
Dear Best Friend, I cannot top what you wrote about in your last blog about our friendship. We have done everything together since 7th grade, and now that is all going to change. As I was sitting in my seat during graduation, I finally came to the realization that you were not going to be with me next year. I do not know if I have ever told you this, but you are the reason I went to Ozark. If you had not gone to OCC four years ago, I probably would have wasted my life at Kansas University playing for their football team. I have never met someone with such great discipline in their walk with Christ. I have learned so much from you by living next to you for four years. I honestly have no idea how I am going to be able to make it this next year in Indiana without you. You let me know when I am being stupid and when I need to lighten up. We have so many inside jokes, and now no one is going to laugh at my stupid jokes. But I like what you said in your blog..."For the average person, his best friend in middle school isn't much more than a casual acquaintance by the time they're in high school. His best friend in high school only gets an occasional facebook message when they're in college. And his best friend from college is nearly forgotten by the time they're 35. I hope to be the exception to that. I understand that people come and go and relationships change. But I have little desire to have another best friend. I'm pretty happy with the one I've got." I cannot put it any better than that my friend, so I'm just going to say, "ditto." I love you bro and I thank God for blessing me with your friendship.
Once again, there are so many more people that made an influence in my life. I'm so thankful for my experience at Ozark, and I sure hope that I will be able to continue the many friendships I made while at that school. While last Saturday might have been the end of my college career, I sure hope that it wasn't the end of the many friendships I created. I love you guys.
Now I am no Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain or Neil Armstrong, but those guys could not have had better friends than the people who I have called family for the past four years at Ozark. There are way too many brothers and sisters that made an impact in my life to bring up in this post, but if I don't mention you its not because I don't love you...it is because you probably never bought me lunch or let me borrow your umbrella when it was raining.
Connor.
Connor, how do I even begin to describe our friendship? Our freshmen year, I just knew you as the kid that had a collapsed lung. I think everyone on our floor visited you in the hospital except for me and David. As time went though, we started to hang out, and I soon realized that you were probably one of the funniest people I had ever met. As our freshmen year came to a close, we started the infamous band, Worthy Prisoners. Six words to describe the worthy Prisoners...Too Much rock for One hand. I loved just sitting in our dorm room writing songs about Jonah or the Book of Acts. I know my junior year, we were not as close but I think we made up for it our senior year. I had such a blast with you my last year at Ozark. Whenever I needed to laugh or just feel better because I was in a horrible mood, you were there to crack a joke and make me smile. But our whole friendship wasn't based on laughter, we could have our serious conversations too about life and I really appreciated that. Connor, You are going to do great things whenever you graduate Ozark. If it is in Russia, I know you'll find a russian lady who just wants to use you for an easier access to American citizenship. Just Kidding! I love you man, and i will always cherish our friendship and I hope it continues for many more years.
Caitlyn.
Oh Caitlyn. Our friendship began in the food court of the mall in Joplin in an awkward way and awkwardness has not departed from a friendship ever since. I have to say that are one great baker. Your cookies were delicious, but you never had to bake us any goodies for us to love you (just in case you thought that was the case). I am sorry we didn't get to hang out as much our senior year, but the times we did hang out, I had a blast. I loved playing cards with you and always having awkward moments. I think my favorite memory with you was our trip down to Albuquerque. Going to the balloon fiesta was one thing I will never forget. You are a great friend Caitlyn, and I sure hope we get to cross paths again someday. And you are going to have so much fun this summer at Camp...you better let me know how it goes!
Blake.
This picture basically sums up our relationship Blake. I can only guess the background to this picture. I probably antagonized you somehow (all I am going to say is...Space Jam), and I tried running away but first you grabbed me and put me in the cradle. One of my first memories of you was when we were walking up the hill from a one of our first meals on campus during orientation, and I remember thinking to myself, "Man, that guy has some weird eyes." Blake, you are a great guy who I look up to spiritually. YOu are going to be an EXCELLENT youth minister, and wherever you end up going, I hope those kids understand how lucky they are to have you as their youth minister. I also want to thank you for putting up with my laziness when it came to working out. I know I ended up leaving you hanging with running in the morning, but you were always there to encourage and push me farther. As our college career came to an end, I felt like I was in your room everyday discussing the future and asking for your wisdom and guidance. Those talks we had were amazing, and we better connect later in life. And don't forget...The Landis Park Church will be the next mega-church.
Kinsey.
Oh Kinsey. I know that we have not been friends as long as the people I have already talked about, but our friendship is just as important to me. People have said that we are the exact same person, just different gender, and i think I would agree with them. We have so much in common that it is a little scary! I had such a great time getting to know you these past couple of years. Whether it was playing cards, playing paper football, or just sitting down and talking in the student center, there was never a dull moment. You have such a great heart and it was awesome getting to see how much you care about people (especially your Asian babies!). I just want you to know that you are going to awesome in Maryland. You are a beautiful woman who I know God will use in great ways if you just have confidence in yourself and in Him. You will always have a friend in me and if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. I love you kinsey!
David.
Dear Best Friend, I cannot top what you wrote about in your last blog about our friendship. We have done everything together since 7th grade, and now that is all going to change. As I was sitting in my seat during graduation, I finally came to the realization that you were not going to be with me next year. I do not know if I have ever told you this, but you are the reason I went to Ozark. If you had not gone to OCC four years ago, I probably would have wasted my life at Kansas University playing for their football team. I have never met someone with such great discipline in their walk with Christ. I have learned so much from you by living next to you for four years. I honestly have no idea how I am going to be able to make it this next year in Indiana without you. You let me know when I am being stupid and when I need to lighten up. We have so many inside jokes, and now no one is going to laugh at my stupid jokes. But I like what you said in your blog..."For the average person, his best friend in middle school isn't much more than a casual acquaintance by the time they're in high school. His best friend in high school only gets an occasional facebook message when they're in college. And his best friend from college is nearly forgotten by the time they're 35. I hope to be the exception to that. I understand that people come and go and relationships change. But I have little desire to have another best friend. I'm pretty happy with the one I've got." I cannot put it any better than that my friend, so I'm just going to say, "ditto." I love you bro and I thank God for blessing me with your friendship.
Once again, there are so many more people that made an influence in my life. I'm so thankful for my experience at Ozark, and I sure hope that I will be able to continue the many friendships I made while at that school. While last Saturday might have been the end of my college career, I sure hope that it wasn't the end of the many friendships I created. I love you guys.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Good News for Chick-Fil-A
"Rise and Rise Again Until Lambs become Lions."
This was the saying Robin Hood's father coined to try and portray his idea of equality between the nobility and peasants. I went and saw Ridley Scott's portrayal of the hooded vigilante, and I thought it was a really entertaining flick that was filled with action coupled with background information on Robin Hood. I would say it is Gladiator-esque; but since Gladiator is the greatest movie of ALL time (therefore receiving 10 out of 10 stars), I would say Robin Hood receives a solid 7 stars. It was a little slow in the middle of the movie, but it was just building up the plot. So go watch it!
So I have seen 4 movies in the last two weeks for a grand total of only $20! Two of the movies were only 3 dollars a piece because i went to the drive-in theater, and the other two were matinees so they were a little bit cheaper. I don't know about you guys but every time I come out of the dark theater from watching a 2 hour movie, I feel like I enter a new world. It feels like I have been in my own little world for 15 years. Sometimes I come out of a movie and I think to myself, "Who is the president?", "What year is it?"..."Have my twinkies reached their expiration date yet?" The dark theater can play tricks on your mind but don't be fooled...Its 2010 and Obama is president and Twinkies will never expire.
Speaking of food, I do not think there is anything better in the world to bring people together. More specifically, I think it can be said that food brings about the most genuine, intimate time of fellowship. If you think about it, every family gathering is centered around the table. For family reunions, there is usually a potluck or barbecue. You might get together with your families for holidays like 4th of July or Christmas. Now even though there are extracurricular activities going on (shooting fireworks and opening presents), there is a meal that is shared that brings the family together. And if you are at the Landis house on Christmas, you get two great meals...A great breakfast and an amazing dinner.
I think the best conversations I have had with people are at the dinner table in the cafe. Of course, all of those conversations have not serious. Actually I am willing to bet only a handful of them were serious, but intimate fellowship is not always serious. It is about being involved in the presence of other people through conversation and life experiences. If you are not enjoying any fellowship of any kind, you are like superman without the sun, like Doug Funny without Patty Mayonnaise, or Jennifer Aniston without Charlie Landis. Fellowship is a necessity for humans. This can easily be seen in Genesis 2 when God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now in this specific context, God is going to make woman to fulfill Adam's desire for fellowship, but this is a great example of how important it is for people to be in fellowship with other people.
Now getting back to one of my favorite things in life...food. The correlation between food and fellowship goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Just like food brings people together in the most intimate fellowship, food was the reason fellowship between God and man was crippled. It was Eve that ate FRUIT (or as a man from my home church so eagerly argues, "Its a pomegranate, and if you teach anything else, it is wrong!") from the tree of knowledge of good and evil that hindered God's presence with man to no longer be what it was before. Their fellowship was broken. But when you look at the New Testament, we see a different picture when it comes to God and man with fellowship and food.
Jesus, the God man, came to earth to restore that broken fellowship between God and man that was destroyed when our first parents ate the fruit. Jesus restored the possibility of fellowship between man and God when he died on the cross, and it ultimately becomes man's choice whether or not to come into the relationship with true fellowship. But when Jesus was walking on the earth about 2,000 years ago, he often used a meal to develop fellowship. The most intimate meal Jesus shared with his disciples was the Last Supper in John 13. Jesus knows his time to die is soon approaching, so what does he do? He shares a meal with his close friends. After he resurrects from the grave, Jesus appears to Peter and what does he do? He has a meal with Peter that reinstates him as the Rock (Mt. 16:18).
Jesus also pictures heaven as a great fellowship meeting around a meal. In Luke 14, Jesus tells the parable of the Great Banquet where a master told his servants to round up all the guests for his banquet but all of them had poor excuses, so the master invites everyone else to his table and says, "I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." Jesus is giving us a picture of heaven, and he describes it as a meal.
The last place I want to look at in the New Testament is Revelation 3:20 where the Apostle John is writing down the words of the Resurrected Jesus to the seven churches. To the church in Laodicea, Jesus says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens my door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Jesus WANTS to fellowship with these people by having a meal.
Now all this talk about food is music to my ears. I love food...probably a little too much, but I just think it is great how food can bring people together. So the next time you are sitting around a group of people sharing some Chick-fil-A fries or eating a home-cooked meal (Only 5 more days until no more cafe food!!) just remember how awesome and important that fellowship can become.
Oh yea, I am graduating in 5 days...AHH!!!
This was the saying Robin Hood's father coined to try and portray his idea of equality between the nobility and peasants. I went and saw Ridley Scott's portrayal of the hooded vigilante, and I thought it was a really entertaining flick that was filled with action coupled with background information on Robin Hood. I would say it is Gladiator-esque; but since Gladiator is the greatest movie of ALL time (therefore receiving 10 out of 10 stars), I would say Robin Hood receives a solid 7 stars. It was a little slow in the middle of the movie, but it was just building up the plot. So go watch it!
So I have seen 4 movies in the last two weeks for a grand total of only $20! Two of the movies were only 3 dollars a piece because i went to the drive-in theater, and the other two were matinees so they were a little bit cheaper. I don't know about you guys but every time I come out of the dark theater from watching a 2 hour movie, I feel like I enter a new world. It feels like I have been in my own little world for 15 years. Sometimes I come out of a movie and I think to myself, "Who is the president?", "What year is it?"..."Have my twinkies reached their expiration date yet?" The dark theater can play tricks on your mind but don't be fooled...Its 2010 and Obama is president and Twinkies will never expire.
Speaking of food, I do not think there is anything better in the world to bring people together. More specifically, I think it can be said that food brings about the most genuine, intimate time of fellowship. If you think about it, every family gathering is centered around the table. For family reunions, there is usually a potluck or barbecue. You might get together with your families for holidays like 4th of July or Christmas. Now even though there are extracurricular activities going on (shooting fireworks and opening presents), there is a meal that is shared that brings the family together. And if you are at the Landis house on Christmas, you get two great meals...A great breakfast and an amazing dinner.
I think the best conversations I have had with people are at the dinner table in the cafe. Of course, all of those conversations have not serious. Actually I am willing to bet only a handful of them were serious, but intimate fellowship is not always serious. It is about being involved in the presence of other people through conversation and life experiences. If you are not enjoying any fellowship of any kind, you are like superman without the sun, like Doug Funny without Patty Mayonnaise, or Jennifer Aniston without Charlie Landis. Fellowship is a necessity for humans. This can easily be seen in Genesis 2 when God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now in this specific context, God is going to make woman to fulfill Adam's desire for fellowship, but this is a great example of how important it is for people to be in fellowship with other people.
Now getting back to one of my favorite things in life...food. The correlation between food and fellowship goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Just like food brings people together in the most intimate fellowship, food was the reason fellowship between God and man was crippled. It was Eve that ate FRUIT (or as a man from my home church so eagerly argues, "Its a pomegranate, and if you teach anything else, it is wrong!") from the tree of knowledge of good and evil that hindered God's presence with man to no longer be what it was before. Their fellowship was broken. But when you look at the New Testament, we see a different picture when it comes to God and man with fellowship and food.
Jesus, the God man, came to earth to restore that broken fellowship between God and man that was destroyed when our first parents ate the fruit. Jesus restored the possibility of fellowship between man and God when he died on the cross, and it ultimately becomes man's choice whether or not to come into the relationship with true fellowship. But when Jesus was walking on the earth about 2,000 years ago, he often used a meal to develop fellowship. The most intimate meal Jesus shared with his disciples was the Last Supper in John 13. Jesus knows his time to die is soon approaching, so what does he do? He shares a meal with his close friends. After he resurrects from the grave, Jesus appears to Peter and what does he do? He has a meal with Peter that reinstates him as the Rock (Mt. 16:18).
Jesus also pictures heaven as a great fellowship meeting around a meal. In Luke 14, Jesus tells the parable of the Great Banquet where a master told his servants to round up all the guests for his banquet but all of them had poor excuses, so the master invites everyone else to his table and says, "I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." Jesus is giving us a picture of heaven, and he describes it as a meal.
The last place I want to look at in the New Testament is Revelation 3:20 where the Apostle John is writing down the words of the Resurrected Jesus to the seven churches. To the church in Laodicea, Jesus says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens my door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Jesus WANTS to fellowship with these people by having a meal.
Now all this talk about food is music to my ears. I love food...probably a little too much, but I just think it is great how food can bring people together. So the next time you are sitting around a group of people sharing some Chick-fil-A fries or eating a home-cooked meal (Only 5 more days until no more cafe food!!) just remember how awesome and important that fellowship can become.
Oh yea, I am graduating in 5 days...AHH!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
My bad!
"My bad." My French teacher, Madame Stull, in high school hated when I said that phrase. Every time i mispronounced a word and had no clue what she was talking about, I would habitually say, "my bad!" Madame Stull would say something in French to me that I couldn't understand, and she would then say, "You make no sense when you say 'my bad'!" Well I didn't learn to quit saying "my bad," and I most definitely didn't learn any French...except for the one phrase, "Je ne suis pas fromage."
so to my readers, My bad! My apologies on my last blog. I really did not mean to sound so pessimistic and bothered by growing up! I had just happened to be talking about the whole idea of growing up with David that day and decided to write it down. I am pumped for the next stage in my life, and I cannot wait to see how I am going to glorify God. So I guess what I am trying to say is that please don't stop reading my blog because I sound like a Debbie Downer. I am thinking about becoming an Ursula Upper.
so to my readers, My bad! My apologies on my last blog. I really did not mean to sound so pessimistic and bothered by growing up! I had just happened to be talking about the whole idea of growing up with David that day and decided to write it down. I am pumped for the next stage in my life, and I cannot wait to see how I am going to glorify God. So I guess what I am trying to say is that please don't stop reading my blog because I sound like a Debbie Downer. I am thinking about becoming an Ursula Upper.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
I Can't Believe its Not Butter...Its Cinna-Butter!
I secretly have a "Blog War" with David Heffren. He doesn't know about it(well, he might not if he reads this post like a good friend would). I saw that before tonight, we both have posted 11 blog posts so far this year, and as I walked into our dorm room, I saw him writing a new post. I can't let him write more blog posts than me, so I decided to write one. I know that people usually write when they have something of importance or meaningful on their minds, but I am competitive by nature. So I guess you could say this post was born out of spite for David Heffren. So take that four-eyes.
As my collegiate career is coming to an end, I have unfortunately just now discovered two important truths. First, the cinna-butter (a delightful combination of brown-sugar cinnamon and butter) that is in the cafe is very tasty. I spread that stuff on my toast, and it is a great dessert item. Apparently, the cinna-butter has been in the cafe my entire four years at Ozark, but I just now discovered it. The second discovery has also been around my tenure at OCC...the drive-in theater. For only $6 I saw Date Night and Clash of the Titans. I went with my blog-foe, David Heffren, and two other friends Kinsey and Lindsay, who we call "Doo." We all sat in some lawn chairs and enjoyed the movie. It was a great time.
I'm trying to hang out with more people before graduation on May 22nd. For instance, right now I am sitting in a room writing this post on my laptop. There are 5 guys in here, and we are just taking turns playing Call of Duty on X-Box. Earlier tonight, I played some cards with people and afterward we went to the Bell. As I was in line waiting for my scrumptious 5-layer burrito, I thought of my life and the many rite of passages I have undergone. I also realized the similarities between my life and the three hour drive from my house to Ozark. You see,the first hour of my trip involves different turns and exits while the final two hours is just one straight shot to Joplin. That is just like life. At the beginning of our lives, we go through many rite of passages. At the age of 5, we go to school. When we are 13, we enter the world of teenagers. Our 16th birthday brings car keys. When someone is 17, R-rated movies can now be seen in the theaters. Smoking and voting is now legal when some becomes 18 years old. Twenty-one is the age when young boys and girls can now OFFICIALLY drink. Renting a car is now possible for those who turn 25. And if you are very eager and motivated, you can run for presidency at the ripe age of 35. And the final rite of passage that everyone is looking forward to: Senior Citizen Discounts.
You should kind of see a trend. The older you get, the less Rite of Passages and perks you get. Just like at the beginning of my drive from my house to school that includes many turns and exits, the younger we are the more exciting and rite of passages that are present. I'm sure this is all kind of confusing. What I'm trying to say is that I'm on the second leg of my "drive." The final two hours of my drive is just kind of boring and monotonous. Basically, all i have to look forward to is rental cars and senior discounts.
I know this might all sound pessimistic and for that I am sorry. But I guess I just realized that I am on that 2 hour part of my lifelong road trip. I can make the most out of this time or I can feel sorry for myself and just live life to die. Personally, I think I will choose to live life to live it to the fullest.
I Can't Believe its Not Butter...Its Cinna-Butter!
As my collegiate career is coming to an end, I have unfortunately just now discovered two important truths. First, the cinna-butter (a delightful combination of brown-sugar cinnamon and butter) that is in the cafe is very tasty. I spread that stuff on my toast, and it is a great dessert item. Apparently, the cinna-butter has been in the cafe my entire four years at Ozark, but I just now discovered it. The second discovery has also been around my tenure at OCC...the drive-in theater. For only $6 I saw Date Night and Clash of the Titans. I went with my blog-foe, David Heffren, and two other friends Kinsey and Lindsay, who we call "Doo." We all sat in some lawn chairs and enjoyed the movie. It was a great time.
I'm trying to hang out with more people before graduation on May 22nd. For instance, right now I am sitting in a room writing this post on my laptop. There are 5 guys in here, and we are just taking turns playing Call of Duty on X-Box. Earlier tonight, I played some cards with people and afterward we went to the Bell. As I was in line waiting for my scrumptious 5-layer burrito, I thought of my life and the many rite of passages I have undergone. I also realized the similarities between my life and the three hour drive from my house to Ozark. You see,the first hour of my trip involves different turns and exits while the final two hours is just one straight shot to Joplin. That is just like life. At the beginning of our lives, we go through many rite of passages. At the age of 5, we go to school. When we are 13, we enter the world of teenagers. Our 16th birthday brings car keys. When someone is 17, R-rated movies can now be seen in the theaters. Smoking and voting is now legal when some becomes 18 years old. Twenty-one is the age when young boys and girls can now OFFICIALLY drink. Renting a car is now possible for those who turn 25. And if you are very eager and motivated, you can run for presidency at the ripe age of 35. And the final rite of passage that everyone is looking forward to: Senior Citizen Discounts.
You should kind of see a trend. The older you get, the less Rite of Passages and perks you get. Just like at the beginning of my drive from my house to school that includes many turns and exits, the younger we are the more exciting and rite of passages that are present. I'm sure this is all kind of confusing. What I'm trying to say is that I'm on the second leg of my "drive." The final two hours of my drive is just kind of boring and monotonous. Basically, all i have to look forward to is rental cars and senior discounts.
I know this might all sound pessimistic and for that I am sorry. But I guess I just realized that I am on that 2 hour part of my lifelong road trip. I can make the most out of this time or I can feel sorry for myself and just live life to die. Personally, I think I will choose to live life to live it to the fullest.
I Can't Believe its Not Butter...Its Cinna-Butter!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
A Tale of Two Psalms
Someone once said, "Golf is a game where guts and blind devotion will always net you absolutely nothing but an ulcer." If this doesn't explain the game of golf, I'm not sure what does. I went golfing this afternoon for the third time so far this year. I have to practice on my game because there is a tournament coming up where the professors are playing the students...I'll be sure to let you guys know who it ends up. But in the mean time, I'm getting ulcer after ulcer.
So now that I am graduating from Ozark, the powers at be made me take a Bible exam to see if I had learned anything while attending OCC. I first took this test when I was a freshman, and after the test I left the room feeling like a moron. I actually began to question whether or not I should be at a place like Ozark because I barely knew any of the answers. I'm proud to say that after taking the exam for the second time, I feel a little better about how I might have scored. Anyways on the exam there were questions that dealt with the Psalms. A question might go something like this: "What Psalm discusses 'They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing'?" Then there were 5 different Psalms listed that I could choose from that correctly answered the question. There were two Psalms that kept reappearing on the test that stuck out in my mind...Psalm 22 and Psalm 91. To be honest, I didn't know what each Psalm was talking about exactly but I knew they were important. Now I took this Test about a week ago, and tonight at youth group during worship, I decided to sit down and read those chapters for some reason.
First, I read Psalm 91. Key verses in this chapter would be "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'." The psalmist also writes, "If you make the Most High your dwelling--even the Lord, who is my refuge--then no harm will befall you." The whole theme of this Psalm is that God will protect and take care of anyone who dwells with God.
Then right away I decided to read Psalm 22. The verses that stick out in this Psalm are "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Then King David goes on to say, "O my god, I cry out by day, but you do not answer." The tone of this Psalm is drastically different than Psalm 91. Psalm 22 expresses agony and despair, and Psalm 91 expresses ecstasy and jubilation.
After reading these two passages that had extreme emotional differences, I reread Psalm 22, and then it hit me. No person could ever speak such words in Psalm 91 if it wasn't for Psalm 22. You see, Psalm 22 was written by King David, but the contents are screaming for a crucified Messiah. Because Jesus voluntarily died on the cross, the Psalmist can rejoice by saying, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'." There are so many parallels between Jesus and Psalm 22:
- v.1 "My God, my God, why hav eyou forsaken me?": Jesus cries out in a loud voice while being crucified on the corss, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk. 15:34).
- v.7 "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.": As Jesus was being crucified "those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads" (Mt. 27:39).
- v.8 "He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him.": Those who passed by hurled insults at Jesus while he was hanging on the cross. even the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him by saying, "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him" (Mt. 27:43).
- v.16 "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.": This is how crucifixion took place. They would nail the criminal by the hands and feet to wooden posts.
- v.18 "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.": John tells us that while the soldiers were crucifying Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them (Jn. 19:23).
I know all of this stuff might be elementary to some of you, but it was so refreshing just to be able to recognize the power and hope in times of darkness. When we realize that Jesus Christ endured the cross for our sake and what he saved us from, our Psalm 22 moments can quickly become Psalm 91 moments.
So now that I am graduating from Ozark, the powers at be made me take a Bible exam to see if I had learned anything while attending OCC. I first took this test when I was a freshman, and after the test I left the room feeling like a moron. I actually began to question whether or not I should be at a place like Ozark because I barely knew any of the answers. I'm proud to say that after taking the exam for the second time, I feel a little better about how I might have scored. Anyways on the exam there were questions that dealt with the Psalms. A question might go something like this: "What Psalm discusses 'They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing'?" Then there were 5 different Psalms listed that I could choose from that correctly answered the question. There were two Psalms that kept reappearing on the test that stuck out in my mind...Psalm 22 and Psalm 91. To be honest, I didn't know what each Psalm was talking about exactly but I knew they were important. Now I took this Test about a week ago, and tonight at youth group during worship, I decided to sit down and read those chapters for some reason.
First, I read Psalm 91. Key verses in this chapter would be "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'." The psalmist also writes, "If you make the Most High your dwelling--even the Lord, who is my refuge--then no harm will befall you." The whole theme of this Psalm is that God will protect and take care of anyone who dwells with God.
Then right away I decided to read Psalm 22. The verses that stick out in this Psalm are "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Then King David goes on to say, "O my god, I cry out by day, but you do not answer." The tone of this Psalm is drastically different than Psalm 91. Psalm 22 expresses agony and despair, and Psalm 91 expresses ecstasy and jubilation.
After reading these two passages that had extreme emotional differences, I reread Psalm 22, and then it hit me. No person could ever speak such words in Psalm 91 if it wasn't for Psalm 22. You see, Psalm 22 was written by King David, but the contents are screaming for a crucified Messiah. Because Jesus voluntarily died on the cross, the Psalmist can rejoice by saying, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'." There are so many parallels between Jesus and Psalm 22:
- v.1 "My God, my God, why hav eyou forsaken me?": Jesus cries out in a loud voice while being crucified on the corss, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk. 15:34).
- v.7 "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.": As Jesus was being crucified "those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads" (Mt. 27:39).
- v.8 "He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him.": Those who passed by hurled insults at Jesus while he was hanging on the cross. even the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him by saying, "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him" (Mt. 27:43).
- v.16 "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.": This is how crucifixion took place. They would nail the criminal by the hands and feet to wooden posts.
- v.18 "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.": John tells us that while the soldiers were crucifying Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them (Jn. 19:23).
I know all of this stuff might be elementary to some of you, but it was so refreshing just to be able to recognize the power and hope in times of darkness. When we realize that Jesus Christ endured the cross for our sake and what he saved us from, our Psalm 22 moments can quickly become Psalm 91 moments.
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